


The Devil In Disguise

by MischiefFrost



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: 13DaysOfHosie, Alternate Universe, Angst, Devil!Josie, F/F, Halloween, Hosie, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Pirate!Hope, Sexual Tension, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:33:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26775925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MischiefFrost/pseuds/MischiefFrost
Summary: [13 Days Of Hosie]13 days of one-shots about Hope and Josie during Spooktober.Day 1: FancyWhen a monster attacks during the annual Halloween party, everyone turns into their costumes. While Lizzie tries to make sure that the party goes of without a hintch, her sister has other plans when she spots a certain tribrid during the party.“So, Hope...”Josie let her knee move up slowly and the auburn-haired girl whined again, making the devil smirk slightly. Her head moved closer and she let her lips hover over the other girl's ones.“...do you feel like making a deal with the devil?”
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 13
Kudos: 135





	1. Fancy

There was always gonna be a new monster of the week. And no one was exaggerating on that. Every week one monster or another would crawl out of the Malivore pit, terrorizing the Salvatore kids and mostly annoying Elizabeth Saltzman.

It was no mystery that Lizzie fancied throwing parties. The harder the parties the better. And witches always partied hard. And with all the monsters coming out to play...well... it made it hard for her to organize them.

“Ugh.” the blonde siphoner groaned and threw herself onto her bed, letting out her frustration about having to tell Jed for the fifth time, that he was supposed to use the purple decorations for the auditorium and not the violet ones. How did he manage to confuse them? Purple and violet were extremely different colors. Did she have to do everything herself?

It was a few days before Halloween and Lizzie didn't even have the time to get a costume. She could easily use magic to get one, but she would prefer to go on a little shopping trip with her sister, using their dad's credit card.

_And buying a lot of things with their dad's credit card._

Lizzie rolled to the side and stared with bleary eyes at the family photo on the wall, showing Alaric grinning next to brightly smiling Caroline. Their mother is holding her and Josie in her arms, hugging them close. Lizzie had made a silly face towards the camera while Josie had smiled shyly, her hand hovering over Lizzie's one.

They were having a family day, during one of the rare occasions where their mother had been home. They had a picnic in the park and Josie had been playing her ukulele for them, singing one of Lizzie's songs while Caroline had made their favorite deserts, a small lime pie for her and some chocolate muffins for Josie and Alaric.

It had been perfect.

And now it wasn't.

Their dad didn't have time for them, always slaying monsters with Hope while he tried to make sure that they didn't get involved and their mom was always been busy with her recruitment missions and finding a cure for the merge.

And it took a toll on her sister.

Josie had never said it out load but Lizzie could feel her sister's inner turmoil.

She could feel her sadness, her anger, and her resignation. Sadness over Penelope leaving her with the knowledge of the merge. Sadness over Landon choosing Hope over her and then the two of them breaking up after that. Anger about her father and mother leaving them alone, never having time for them when they need them. And resignation. Lizzie wasn't sure but it seemed connected to the merge. As if Josie had accepted the fact she would not walk out of the merge alive.

And it saddened Lizzie. They would find a way, a loophole. And they would both live. Lizzie would make sure of that.

But in the meantime, she would make sure that Josie would just have a good time.

And what would make her twin happier than an awesome Halloween party?

Lizzie grinned at that thought and all her frustration regarding Jed's incompetence about identifying the right color seemed to disappear.

And also... she had heard how Alyssa Chang had lost a bet with another witch and had to wear a rather ridicules outfit now.

This Halloween party would be epic.

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“Lizzie!” her sister whined as the blonde twin almost crushed her with a hug.

Josie had just stepped out of her 'Advanced Potions' class as a mob of blonde hair crushed into her, grinning at her with mischief sparkling in her eyes. While she loved her sister she knew she should run away and hide from her sister when she had this particular expression on her face. Maybe throwing some unsuspecting students her way while running. But it seemed as she had missed her opportunity as her sister had backed her into a wall.

“Josie.” the blonde siphoner stated and it made the brunette fell a bit more uneasy.

“You and me...” she pointed from Josie to herself and grinned like a Cheshire Cat.

Josie gulped.

“We are going Halloween shopping!”

Josie opened her mount and closed it again, like a fish who stranded on land and was now facing his immediate death. No sound came out of her mouth as Lizzie kept grinning at her.

She was sure that the wolves had to help to organize the party as Jed had been complaining to her about it. There seemed to be a misunderstanding between the ex-alpha and her sister about the color scheme of the decoration. Josie had seen him leave with his face in his hands, mumbling something about the color purple to one of the other wolves.

“But I thought Jed...” she started but Lizzie dismissed her with a flick of her wrist.

“The wolves...” she sighed dramatically and some of the students, probably said wolves, turned around and looked at them with creased eyebrows.

Josie shushed her sister and made Lizzie roll her eyes, but she continued with a much softer voice.

“The wolves are working on decorating while we...” she emphasized the last word while grabbing Josie's hands with hers. “...are going costume shopping.”

“What?” the brunette's voice seemed a few octaves higher than before.

Josie hadn't been planning on going to a Halloween party and she definitely hadn't been planning on wearing a costume. And she also hadn't been planning on going shopping with her sister in the near future as Lizzie tended to... well... choose her outfits if Josie wasn't fast enough to find the ones she liked.

“Josie?” a timid voice had entered their conversation and she could see her sister's grin getting bigger as the brunette spotted auburn hair in front of her.

Hope had her arms crossed and raised a single eyebrow at the twins as Lizzie stood tall and way too happy in front of a slightly scared looking brunette who looked like she wanted to bolt at any second. And her eyes seemed to warn Hope to do the same.

“Mikaelson.” the blonde almost shouted and Hope flinched slightly at the loud voice penetrating her ears. The tribrid had spotted Josie from afar, getting pulled into her orbit by a magical pull. Hope had felt the awkwardness between them, after the two break-ups it had been getting worse. And it felt like a need to her to make things right with Josie.

The brunette siphoner was her best friend.

_Best friend..._

She rubbed her neck awkwardly as she looked back at the taller twin and was now debating with herself if it was a good idea coming over.

“Perfect timing.” Lizzie grinned and grabbed Hope's arm before the tribrid could even think about making her escape.

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A new store had opened a few weeks ago, selling costumes and other decorations for pretty much everything.

Half an hour later the three of them made their way through aisles and aisles of costumes, making Lizzie almost squealing in delight as Hope and Josie trotted behind her.

Josie eyed the tribrid next to her. They hadn't really talked after Landon had broken up with her and then Hope breaking up with Landon, leaving all three of them unhappy. Josie had been heartbroken as she was always the second choice. Hope was overcome with sadness as she had to let Landon go after his disregard of his own life and the way she had hurt the brunette. And Landon utterly alone as he had not only lost the people he loved but also destroyed their friendship on the way.

Hope's eyes moved to hers and Josie quickly evaded her gaze by looking at the costumes to her left. Which was a mistake as she spotted the 'slutty' section of the store and the brunette blushed. She heard Hope snicker next to her and she couldn't contain the small smile spreading across her face at that sound.

She was hurt but she had missed Hope.

Hope was her best friend after all...

_Best friend._

Before she could further embarrass herself, Lizzie stopped dead in her tracks and the other two girls almost walked into her. She looked between Hope and Josie for a second until her eyes settled back onto the costume section.

Josie lost her balance for a second but Hope grabbed her arm before she could fall into the 'Slutty Zombie' outfit section.

Hope steadied her and smiled softly at the brunette as she retracted her hand. She wouldn't say it out loud but the touch seemed to have burned her hand... in a good way. In a very confusing but very good way.

“I've found the perfect outfit for you, Josie.” Lizzie stated and shook Hope and Josie out of their thoughts and Josie almost took a double-take at the outfit Lizzie was referring too. The blush that had spread across her face when Hope had looked at her was nothing compared to the blush that was now spreading across her whole body. Even Hope seemed to raise an eyebrow at Lizzie's choice but remained quiet.

Thinking quietly about how Josie would look in that outfit.

_Wait._

“Lizzie!” the brunette squealed her face seemed as red now as the costume Lizzie was holding in her hand now.

Said blonde seemed unimpressed about her sister's squeal and hold out the costume she had in her hand.

“You...” she pointed at her sister and pushed the costume in her hands, leaving no room for discussion.

“You will go change now and we will buy that outfit.” she waved her hands towards the changing rooms.

“And then we will go the party...” she lowered her hands and used her index finger to poke into her sister's chest, making her squeak as she swatted Lizzie's hand away.

Lizzie had made a promise. She would make sure her sister would have a good time.

“... and then we will find you a nice boy...”

Hope's eyebrow rose again and she gave Lizzie and irritated look which the blonde promptly ignored. Was the other girl jealous about her sister finding a nice flavor of the evening? As long as Hope wasn't jealous of her going after the Hobbit again...

“... or a nice girl...”

The tribrid seemed to relax a bit, Lizzie noted. The blonde raised an eyebrow back at the wolf girl but Hope looked away and seemed to study the other outfit options around her.

“... and then you will get laid...”

Hope tensed and bit her lip as she eyes the brunette siphoner.

“Lizzie!” the brunette yelled and a few heads turned towards them. Lizzie glared at them and they all turned around again except for the cashier at the front who smirked at the trio. The blonde had never seen him before and he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would move to Mystic Falls out of free will. He looked good, muscles flexing under his shirt but his whole demeanor screamed trouble. He chuckled to himself in an eerie way and turned back to his phone, making Lizzie wonder what the hell was wrong with Boy Wonder over there.

She shook her head and turned back to her sister who seemed to have used the moment to make her way over to the much tamer outfits but Lizzie grabbed her before she could make her escape.

“Uhu.” the blonde signed and pointed back to the changing rooms.

Josie signed and rolled her eyes but obeyed her sister's demands.

Then the blonde turned towards the tribrid again as Josie made her way over to the changing rooms.

“Don't think I forgot about you, little Miss Sunshine.” she grabbed Hope's arm and dragged her towards their left.

There was no pleasant burning now, Hope noted.

Lizzie maneuvered both of them through various shoppers, Lizzie bumping into people as they made their way towards their goal. Some called after them, others simply grumbled, but Lizzie just rolled her eyes at them and moved forward.

Then both of them stopped and Hope's mouth felt dry as she looked at the particular costume Lizzie had in mind.

“Lizzie, no.”

“Lizzie, yes!”

The blonde turned towards the tribrid and grinned.

“I think it is time you get over the KFC menu you called your boyfriend and...” she handed her the costume.

“... get yourself some action.”

Hope's scandalized expression made Lizzie laugh for a second before her face hardened for a second.

“But keep your hands off my sister.”

Hope blushed slightly and looked back at the costume, choosing to ignore Lizzie's snark for now.

“So, a slutty pirate, huh?” she sighed while Lizzie looked proud of herself.

After Josie had changed and showed off her outfit to Lizzie, not Hope, because she would've died of embarrassment, the three made their way over to the cashier.

The guy seemed even creepier than before, Lizzie noted. Staring at their outfits as if he knew something about them that they didn't.

“So...” Lizzie leaned over the counter and Boy Wonder smirked while tipping into his cash register.

Such an annoying smirk.

“You're new here?”

Josie's eye twitched slightly at her sister's question while Hope remained silent, looking in any other direction but Josie's and seemingly deep in thought.

“Something like that.” he chuckled and his voice was deeper than the blonde twin had expected. He looked up as he moved the last item over to the trio and stared creepily into Lizzie's eyes. His index finger pointed towards the register, showing her the final sum of their purchase. He grinned as he took Alaric's credit card and then handed them the three purchases.

Before the three could make their way out of the store Boy Wonder turned towards them again.

“Thank you for your purchase, you will see it will be...”

He grinned again.

“...a transforming experience.”

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Josie gulped as she looked at herself in the mirror.

The tight dark leather pants showed off her curves and made her legs appear even longer than before, while the red frilled leather top ended above right above her belly button, showing off a lot of skin while a dark belt with rivets over her ribcage made her... well... it showed of her goods in a rather appealing way.

Josie blushed at the image in front of her and looked at herself from head to toe.

Two dark horns on her head made her look more devious instead of her normal timid self and the red devil's tail that was dangling from her pants made her blush again.

And this was not the only thing.

Lizzie had not only chosen her outfit but also decided on her makeup.

Josie's eyes sparked and seemed more alluring with all the dark eyeshadow her sister had used. Her nails were in a bright red color such as her full lips and Josie tried not to bite it and smear it. Lizzie would have a fit.

Lizzie had made her whole look alluring, even using her magic to make Josie's dull brown eyes bright red as her outfit. Making her look like the real and very sexy devil.

And the irony wasn't lost to Josie as she thought back to Arcadius.

“Ahh!”

Josie flinched and hastily opened the bathroom door, hands raised to attack anyone who might have invaded her and Lizzie's room, ready to protect her sister.

But now it looked like her sister didn't need any protection.

More like the person in front of her needed protection from the blonde siphoner.

“What is wrong with you Beethoven?!?” her sister screamed as Jed quickly moved towards the wall, his hands up in surrender.

The scene in front of her was almost funny if it wasn't for the fact that Lizzie looked like she was ready to murder the werewolf in front of her. Jed seemed to have come to their room and it looked like he had brought something and then spilled it all over... Lizzie's costume. Some sticky green goo was all over Lizzie's Wonder Woman outfit, eating away the fabric and leaving a green and stinky vapor coming from it.

It smelled like someone had tried to pick a fight with a giant skunk and had lost.

It didn't look like it could be saved.

Lizzie was fuming and moved closer to the werewolf, her hands glowing sightly red.

And Josie intervened.

“Lizzie.”

The brunette moved between the two and put her hands up in surrender. She looked at her sister sternly and made sure that Jed would be safe from her sisters wrath.

Lizzie eyed her sister and glared slightly at her. But then she sighed and moved a step back. She promised herself that her sister would have fun today. She would make sure her sister would have a good time.

And maybe make sure that Mikaelson wouldn't get any frisky ideas.

“Looking good, Jo.”

Or one particular colorblind and costume destroying werewolf.

The glare Jed received for ogling at her sister made him pale a bit and he raised his hands in surrender. Without another word he walked outside, looking one more time at her sister, and then he was out the door.

Lizzie was fuming inside but gave her sister a tight-lipped smile. She would make her way over to MG's room and see if he could help her. And then she would help her sister find a lovely snack for the evening.

She ushered her sister out the door and mumbled something about meeting her later at the party.

Josie was utterly lost. Before she could say something to her twin, the blonde had closed the door and left Josie standing there alone.

She sighed.

She better get going before her sister would get any other ideas.

The brunette walked towards the auditorium. But something seemed off.

Alyssa was waving at her, looking extremely cheerful in her pink fairy costume. Josie looked back at her and it seemed like the other witch took this as an invitation to come over and give Josie the tightest hug she had ever received.

“Alyssa?” Josie whispered and the dark-haired girl just smiled brightly at her.

“Josette!” she whispered back, like the two of them were sharing a secret between old friends, hugging her even tighter and making Josie sees stars with the limit oxygen she was receiving.

“Isn't it a wonderful evening?” she asked and Josie pushed her a bit away from her.

“Ehm?” Josie mumbled and was debating with herself if Alyssa had been drugged with some happiness potion or not.

“Hmpf.” a voice joined and Josie looked back at Wade walking over to them.

He looked annoyed at Alyssa's happy demeanor and almost hissed at both of them.

_What?_

Wade was looking at them as they were a rather amazing meal, but at the same time, he seemed to try to stay away from the two. Like if he would stay too long he would simply murder them.

Josie looked at him and it seemed like he had dressed as a vampire and was now also acting like one.

Maybe someone had put something in the punch.

Josie would definitely stay clear of it now.

While Alyssa went to give Wade a hug too, Josie made a slip and moved towards the auditorium. She saw other students acting weird too. Rafael was wearing a prince charming outfit and began talking funnily to any girl dressed in a princess outfit, while Kaleb had dressed as a werewolf, probably to annoy the Salvatore wolves, and was now howling and growling at anyone who came to close to the snack table.

Something weird was going on.

She could feel something magical in the air, something that didn't belong to the school.

Something...

_Something..._

Josie shook her head.

What was she doing again?

She blinked and looked around the room again.

The brunette crooked her head to the side and it seemed like she could the world in a different light. She pressed her red painted nails on her thigh and a wicked smile came to her face. Her red eyes glowed slightly as her eyes moved from one person to the next.

So many innocents.

So many souls to corrupt.

She sighed lowly and let her hands wander over her thighs, making some of the other people around her watching her closely.

A priest turned towards her, looking longingly at her and made her chuckle. A priest lusting after the devil, oh the irony.

Her eyes wandered again, looking at princesses, at zombies, at heroes.

Everything wicked and everything good, all in one room.

And Josie would make sure they would all end on the wicked side. That was her job as the devil after all.

She looked to her right again and she spotted a lonely pirate, leaning casually at the wall and looking rather sinful. The brunette's mouth went dry and her red eyes seemed to glow even brighter than before.

Her legs moved on her own accord and the devil found her way to the lonely and beautiful pirate.

The auburn-haired girl looked up as the devil herself made her way over to her, leaning into her as a red nail moved along her chin, making Hope shiver.

“Hello, love.” the brunette whispered and the pet name seemed a bit familiar but Hope didn't care about that as the red nail made its way from her chin down to her neck, leaving a burning trail over her body.

“Who are ye, beautiful? Th' Davy Jones herself?” Hope mumbled as the brunette beauty moved her nail over her neck down to her chest.

The stranger moved closer and could feel the brunette's hot breath over faun over her face, leaving her breath out shakily.

The burning feeling seemed familiar and something was nagging in the back of her mind. Something important.

“I can be anyone...” the brunette whispered and moved closer.

Hope opened her eyes and stared right back into bright red ones.

“...you want me to be.” the stranger bit slowly into her earlobe, making Hope nagging thought go away and making her pant out.

“Wha' be yer name? How should I call ye?” Hope panted as she let the stranger's hands roam over her waist. The pirate's hands moved from her sword holder over the brunette's arms, making the other one shudder.

The auburn-haired smirked slightly as the brunette seemed to be affected as she was.

The brunette devil moved even closer, spreading the pirate's legs with her knees and then stood between them.

“Josie...” she whispered in her ear.

Hope licked her lips.

What a beautiful name.

“... most of them...” Josie started and her fingers pressed sightly into her neck.

The pirate turned her head as Josie began to smirk at her.

“...call me the devil.”

Hope gulped as Josie's head dipped down to her neck, letting her teeth drag slowly over her pulse point. The auburn-haired girl whined at the sensation and she pressed herself even closer to the brunette.

“What is your name, love?”

The pirate opened her eyes and she slung her arms over Josie's neck, letting their foreheads touch.

“Hope.” she breathed out and the devil closed her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips.

_Hope._

_So familiar._

Yet it would be the only thing this girl would lose when she would enter the devil's realm.

“Me name be Hope.”

The red nails dug into her back, making her hiss lowly in a weird mixture from pain and pleasure.

“So, Hope...”

Josie let her knee move up slowly and the auburn-haired girl whined again, making the devil smirk slightly.

Her head moved closer and she let her lips hover over the other girl's ones.

“...do you feel like making a deal with the devil?”

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Lizzie huffed and threw the rest of her Wonder Woman costume in the trash can.

There was no use. The costume was totally ruined and there was no way she could repair the damages that Jed the cowardly dog had done to it. Though she could still send a hex his way.

She could only hope that MG would have something else in store for her.

The blonde twin opened her door and made her way over to the dark-skinned vampire's room.

But something seemed off.

As she walked down the floor she noticed that several students acted... weird. Weirder than usual at least. She spotted Pedro running around in a mummy outfit... but the outfit seemed way to real and Pedro was acting like...well... a mummy.

The small boy made his way slowly over to her, groaning and raising his hands.

“Pedro?”

The boy didn't look up as he mumbled something under his breath. The eyes under his costumes seemed to glow in an eerie yellow light.

Before she could react, a wist of sand pushed her to the side, making room or the smaller boy as he kept mumbling.

Lizzie struggled as the sand pushed her farther and farther into the wall, making breathing harder for her.

Pedro didn't look up as Lizzie choked and it seemed like the boy wasn't there at all. The blonde noticed that he wasn't talking in English but he was saying something in a very old language that she didn't understand.

And then the sand was gone and Lizzie fell down with Pedro nowhere in sight.

“What the...” she choked. The siphoner coughed a few times before looking up again. And she almost choked on her own spit.

Alyssa Chang was running around in a fairy costume, throwing glitter at unsuspecting Salvatore students and giving everyone and she meant everyone a hug.

Wade was standing near her, eyes her neck in an uncomfortable way.

And then there was MG... crawling along the wall in his Miles Morales Spider-Man outfit.

“MG?” she shrieked as he made his way over to the other two, throwing some sticky substance at Wade as he leaned towards Alyssa. Wade was thrown of Alyssa and was now sticking to the wall, trying to get free but failing miserably. He hissed at him and showed off his perfectly white fangs.

“Dude, you're a vampire?” MG asked and threw more of his sticky stuff at Wade's mouth, making him close it.

“A vampire! This day is so awesome!”

MG waved his arms and she could hear Alyssa shriek while throwing her arms around his neck. Sprinkling more glitter over his suit.

“MG!” Lizzie shrieked as the other boy threw something out of his wrist and swung himself and Alyssa out of the window.

The blonde was lost for words.

What the actual f...

“Lizzie?” a big hand reached out for hers and helped her stand.

Jed retracted his hand the moment he was sure that Lizzie didn't suddenly lose her balance and he took a cautious step back as he eyed her suspiciously.

“You seem normal?” he said unsure and it sounded more like a question.

Lizzie huffed and boxed his arm.

“Yep, you're your normal bitc...”

“Think about your next words wisely, Fido!” Lizzie hissed and Jed closed his mouth.

The ex-alpha looked around again, making sure both of them were alone before he spoke again.

“I think we have a new monster in the school...” he mumbled and Lizzie glared at him as if it was his fault that a new monster was causing havoc again.

“How so?” she asked but she dreaded his answer all the same. She had seen Pedro, Alyssa, MG, and Wade... all of them acting as...

as...

“Everyone acts like their costume.” he said out loud and Lizzie sighed again.

_Of fucking course._

_Why not?_

The one night she...

And then Lizzie gulped.

She asked for one night of peace, one night without monsters so that she could throw this party. A party specifically organized for her sister.

Her sister who was running around in a rather revealing devil's outfit.

From the slutty section.

_Fu..._

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Josie had pushed the two of them into one of the corners of the auditorium and whispered sweets nothings into her victim's ear.

Pirates were known for having a questionable moral compass and it would be a refreshing taste for her. Humans who were overly good were fun, but it was always more challenging to get under someone's skin who wasn't good, who had a dark side in them. It was fun watching them squirm, seeing them struggle to remain good but failing to fight their darkness.

And oh this pirate fought.

She could feel the darkness inside her, something alluring, and something unique. It seemed familiar but yet she couldn't place it.

Hope had put her hands between them, not letting Josie come any closer but not letting her leave either.

In the corner of her eyes, the devil could see a dark-haired boy with a muppet-like haircut, looking longingly at them. He was dressed in a medieval outfit, a ring dangling from his neck, and... he was missing his shoes. And his feet were hairy. Josie shuddered. He looked like one of those mere creatures from the Lord of the Rings novel. A hobbit?

Josie blinked and looked back at Hope who was now squirming under her.

Her eyes glowed bright red as she stared at those sinful lips.

“Are ye here t' get me soul?” the auburn-haired asked and a whine escaped her throat as Josie's hands rested on her shoulder blades, leaving a burning and pleasant sensation.

_It was familiar._

Hope blinked and looked back at the devil and there was something about her.

“Maybe.” she whispered into Hope's ear and the pirate dug her nails into the other girl's chest.

Of all the wonders she had seen during her travels around the globe, during all her time on her ship... she hadn't seen someone as beautiful as her.

And even if she was here to drag her soul back to hell, making her suffer for an eternity... she would gladly give her anything she asked for.

_She would do everything to make sure that Josie was safe and happy._

What? Why would she do that? She didn't know the devil and certainly, she was known for killing and dragging poor souls down to her realm.

But then a needy moan escaped her lips and any rational thought left her mind as Josie dipped her head again and bit softly into her neck, making hot lava spreading from her belly down her legs. Hope's hand wandered down onto the devil's waist and she squeezed them slightly, making the brunette sighed heavenly (or hellishly) into her neck.

The brunette's head came back up and Hope almost whined at the loss of the sensation. But Hope could see how much the other one was affected too, her eyes glazed over slightly as she looked from Hope's eyes to her lips and back again.

Hope smirked.

“Like wha' ye see?”

The devil let out a low chuckle and crocked her head slightly to the side, revealing a long and alluring neck, making the pirate wanna ravish the girl in front of her.

“Mmh...” the devil sighed and came closer and closer to her lips.

Hope's head moved on its own accord.

If this was it... she would die happily.

If this means the end for her if this meant that she was dammed to an eternity of hell for just one kiss from these sinful lips... Hope would do it.

She inched closer and closed her eyes as she felt the other one's hot breath hitting her face, making her see stars. She could smell a hint of vanilla and the familiarity of it made Hope almost pass out.

Just a few more inches.

She could almost feel her lips on hers.

_Almost._

And then a book hit her head from the side and almost made her fall down.

“When I said to get over the 2000 emo boyband reject I didn't mean to defile my sister!”

A blonde had entered their little bubble and the corner and she could see the devil scowl at her. There was something so familiar about this. As if she had seen her do this all the time to the blonde.

_Wait, sister?_

_Does the devil have a sister?_

“We had to knock out your pyromaniac pigeon's excuse of a boyfriend by the way before he could use that stupid plastic ring of his! You're welcome!” she hissed and Hope had to smile as she heard these weird names she was calling the poor boy. She didn't understand what the blonde was talking about but it tugged at something in her heart.

Josie crooked her head to the side and looked at the blonde who was still talking to them about a fire chicken... or something.

Fire chickens sound like a wonderful idea to torture these lost souls in hell.

The blonde had good ideas.

Maybe she could throw that Hobbit creep she saw staring at them into the darkest pit of hell and let those fire chickens torture him a bit. And maybe make out with that hot pirate in front of him.

The blonde girl seemed to read her mind and boxed her arm, making her scowl at her again.

“And you!” she pointed at the devil and Josie shrunk away from her.

“We're gonna get to our room and you will stay there until we have fixed this!”

The boy behind her stepped from one foot to the other nervously as he tried not to stare at the brunette making out with the auburn-haired girl. He blushed slightly when his eyes met hers and Josie smirked, making him blush even harder.

“No.”

The devil smirked at the blonde before grabbing Hope's arm and teleported them away in a pillar of fire, hearing the blind shriek again.

“I told you! You two are never happening!”

When Josie opened her eyes again she was standing in a bedroom. Pictures were painting the wall, smiling faces of the auburn-haired girl and people who looked rather familiar to her. Maybe her family. And then she spotted one of herself, making her frown for a second. She was smiling and hugging Hope to her side, making the other girl smile shyly and hugging her back. Before she could investigate further she heard the pirate pant and Josie's exes focused back on her target.

She could think later about the whole ordeal.

She moved closer and pressed her body into the small one from the pirate.

Josie could feel her heart beating a thousand beats a minute and she wasn't faring any better. It was like her heart had decided to synchronize with the other girl's one.

The devil licked her lips and pushed the pirate onto the bed.

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“Agh!”

Lizzie stomped her foot as her sister and Hope had disappeared.

This whole night was a disaster.

She turned around only to see Jed blushing slightly and when she looked down to his pants she punched him again.

“Ouch!” the ex-alpha whined and stepped back from the blonde.

“If you keep doing that I will bury a certain bone of yours...”

_Bone?_

Jed seemed confused for a second until his eyes followed Lizzie's eye of sight and he blushed as he saw the slight bulge in his pants.

He lowered his jacket and letting it fall over his waist.

“So, how do we fix this?” he asked and tried to change the subject away from her really hot sister with her really long alluring legs, her long neck, her...

“We kill the monster!” the blonde exclaimed, shaking Jed out of his thoughts.

He eyed the other students.

“And how do we find it?” he asked and moved his body slightly away from Lizzie's prying eyes.

Lizzie stepped away and thought about the whole thing for a minute. Not everyone was affected. She and Jed seemed to be okay while the others seemed to lose their minds, turning into whatever their costumes represented.

Costumes...

Costumes from that new shop in the city.

“ _Thank you for your purchase, you will see it will be...”_

_He grinned again._

“ _...a transforming experience.”_

That creep from the costume shop!

Lizzie growled and grabbed Jed's arm, leaving no room for discussion, leading him outside and towards the town.

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Josie pinned Hope's arm over her head, pushing her further and further into the mattress.

She kept her lips away from hers, keeping up the tension only to see which one of them would break first.

The smaller girl writhed under her, her nails digging into Josie's wrist.

Making Josie shudder with something between pain and pleasure.

The devil pressed her body further into her and nipped at her pulse point.

The pirate moaned loudly and it was music in her ears. The devil could revel in that sound forever.

Before she could nip at her pulse point again and make Hope do that wonderful and sinful sound again, a knew moved between her legs, spreading them slightly and pressing her knee into her.

Josie bend her neck, closed her eyes, and tried not to let out a needy moan as she felt the knee between her legs move in small circles.

A low whine escaped her lips as the knee pressed a bit harder into her, making her thighs shake with anticipation.

It felt like she was chasing a high.

She used one of her arms to keep Hope arms pinned above her head and let her other hand roam the pirate's body.

Moving from her neck, over her chest, down her belly, moving further south...

Hope gasped and the devil smirked as she pressed her hand into the auburn-haired girl's upper thigh.

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Meanwhile, Lizzie and Jed made their way through the city. Looking at adults and children alike, seeing monsters roaming around, seeing the chaos it was causing.

Everyone who bought a costume from that shop lost their mind.

Jed borrowed Lizzie his arm so she could siphon his magic while he used his werewolf strength to throw off any person coming near them.

While Jed had been an annoying little mutt these last few hours with his non-existing decorating skill, his hooligan ways of destroying Halloween costumes, and the fact that he was lusting after his sister... he was now making sure that she was safe.

They entered the store again and now it looked slightly eerie. There were no lights on and the rest of the costume and masks seemed to stare at them, making the both of them slightly uncomfortable.

A low chuckle echoed from the walls.

Lizzie sighed.

“I asked for one evening!” she shouted and the chuckled stopped at her sudden load noise.

Lizzie grabbed Jed's arm and heard him hiss as she siphoned enough power from him to illuminate the whole room.

“One lousy evening without any of you freak-show mud monsters.”

She could now spot the cashier from before. His skin was almost pitch black and he seemed to have grown a bit too, looking like the textbook definition of a Malivore monster.

“And now because of you...”

Lizzie raised her arms as Jed panted heavily behind her.

“I can't go to my own party...”

The black eyes stared back at her, seemingly confused as to why the blonde siphoner wasn't even the tiniest bit afraid of him.

“And...”

Lizzie breathed in.

“The tribrid is defiling my sister!”

And then she screamed. The werewolf boy behind her covered his ears as a magical wave surged through the store, destroying everything in it's way that was not from this world. The costumes on the shelf ignited and vaporized at the sheer amount of power. The whole store shook under Lizzie's anger and the monster in front of them fall on its knees, screaming and closing his eyes in pain.

He clawed at them but there was no use.

With one final surge, he exploded and covered Jed and Lizzie in black and sticky goo.

Jed was the first to break the silence.

“When I thought about going out with you or your sister...” he started and Lizzie glared at him.

Jed just smirked back, his evening already ruined.

“...I was thinking more about going to the cinema or something.”

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Pedro raised his hands as he stalked towards Emma, who was choking on sand coming out of her mouth. Before he could deliver his final blow he blinked at his teacher as if he know remembered where he was.

He lowered his arms and Emma coughed as the last of the sand left her mouth.

“Pedro?”

And the boy fainted,

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Rafael held his sword and pointed it to the werewolf.

Kaleb growled and looked hungrily at the young prince.

“I will slay you vile creature.” Rafael shouted and Dorian looked in shock as he moved his sword over his head and then towards Kaleb,

But before anything could happen both boys stopped, looked confusingly at each other, and fainted.

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Landon woke up and looked around.

The blonde beauty had thrown him into a wall and had made some snarky remark about a ring...

The ring!

Landon stood up and looked around for his ring.

If he lost it... if it made its way to Modor...

Then he spotted it near the door of the auditorium, making him sigh in relief.

_Wait..._

Why would he be relieved about finding a plastic ring?

And then he lost consciousness for the second time of the day.

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Wade stalked towards Alaric as he pointed his crossbow at him.

Of course, there would be a new monster coming to the school tonight and mess up his plans of drowning his sorrows in bourbon.

He let out a warning shot as Wade hissed again.

Maybe he should've called Damon for some company but it seemed like he and Elena were out with Bonnie, celebrating one evening without their daughter.

“Wade!” Alaric warned and said boy stopped.

_It worked!_

But then Wade blinked, looked around confused, and fainted.

Alaric sighed and grabbed his bourbon glass again. He took a large gulp before making his way out of the room.

Maybe Dorian or the other kids knew what was going on.

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MG held out his hand to Alyssa who smiled shyly at her.

“You're friendly neighborhood spider-man..” he murmured as he made sure she got home safe.

Alyssa's little fairy wings wiggled happily under his gaze.

But then both stopped.

MG stared back at her and his happy expression morphed into one of horror.

Alyssa on the other hand began to smirk as if she had just received the first prize in a competition.

And then both fainted.

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Josie's lips hovered over Hope's and the auburn-haired girl gulped at how close she was.

She still hadn't kissed her, letting the pirate writhe underneath her until she would beg her for mercy.

Hope let out a mewl-like sound as Josie's hand moved further up her thigh.

It was torture.

But it felt so good.

She sighed as the hand made its way near the final destination and she could hear Josie's low chuckle at the sound.

_Wait._

Why was Josie on top of her?

“Josie?” the tribrid asked through hazy eyes and almost choked as she saw the other girl hovering over her in a rather revealing outfit.

She could feel a blush spreading across her face as she looked at their positions and as she felt Josie's hand hovering above...

“Hope?” the brunette shrieked and moved her hand away, leaving Hope panting with frustration.

Josie breathed out and tried to break their contact but Hope's legs were tangled with hers and Hope's knee made contact with her bare thigh...

Both of them looked at each other, trying to wrap their heads around the situation and not dying from embarrassment.

And before anyone could say anything, Josie's eyes rolled back and she fell down on Hope, leaving the tribrid blushing harder than before as she felt Josie's warmth seeping through her body.

And then blackness overtook her too.

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A few days after the incident things seem to be normal again.

Lizzie had explained the whole situation to her father and the other students and even praised the ex-alpha, Jed, for his efforts of making sure she was okay.

Said alpha was pleasantry surprised by it and smirked before making his way to his room. Maybe the blonde witch wasn't as bad as everyone made her be.

They had no idea what the monster was, just that it was his power to transform people into what they were, using the Halloween costumes to wreak some havoc around the city.

Josie had not really talked to her sister about what happened after she and Hope made their escape. She could remember everything perfectly and it made her almost die on the spot.

At least she didn't have to feel as bad as MG, who was now hiding from Alyssa after he heroically saved her from vampire Wade. Said boy though was the talk of the day, the other vampires finding his transformation rather cool and said to everyone how he stood up to Dr. Saltzman and won (which he didn't of course, but Alaric didn't feel like correcting them) and how Kaleb as a werewolf had simply acted like an animal. The other wolves protested but since they Alpha turned into Prince Charming... there wasn't much room for debate.

Everyone was still talking about the latest monster attack as Josie made a slip and walked outside towards the lake.

While she had been under the influence of magic and while she didn't act like herself, she couldn't deny the pull she had felt towards Hope during and even before the party.

She had thought that with bringing everyone's memories back that maybe her old crush had made it back too but would simply fade away again.

Now it seemed like her crush hadn't left at all.

She sat down on the pier and stared at the water before her. Calm and collected, not like herself.

Josie put her head in her hands and breathed out.

_What a disaster._

“Jo?”

The siphoner almost leaped into the lake itself when she heard the honey-sweet voice of Hope Mikaelson behind her.

_Almost._

The tribrid sat down next to her and looked out at the lake, seemingly in thought about how to start their conversation.

And Josie gulped.

Hope was probably disgusted, annoyed, and angry at her. How could she have been so reckless, how could she do this to her?

As if Hope somehow read her mind, the tribrid placed her hand on top of Josie's and squeezed it.

The auburn-haired girl turned around and smiled shyly, letting Josie calm down before opening her mouth again.

“I wanted to talk to you about that party...” she started and could see how Josie's eyes became even bigger and she bit her lip, thinking about her next words wisely.

“We were under the influence of magic...”

Josie looked away.

Hope was disgusted by her, she knew it.

“...and while we have acted differently...”

The brunette could feel tears forming in her eyes.

She would lose her best friend.

“...certain things stayed the same.”

_Huh?_

The brunette siphoner turned towards the tribrid and she could see Hope blush slightly.

“MG was saving Alyssa because he is always gonna be the hero,”

The auburn-haired girl inched closer and Josie could feel a small smile forming on her face.

“Rafael fought Kaleb to protect other students because he is always gonna be there for his friends.”

Hope's hand moved up her wrist.

“Wade went after your dad because he was hell-bent on changing some rules regarding the supernaturals and while he didn't show it, he was ready to do everything to make sure that would have a good and fulfilled life. And went after your dad because he felt like he had to talk to him again.”

Her hand moved up Josie's arm and Josie shuddered under the burning sensation.

“You looked for me when you were wearing that devil's outfit.”

She cupped her face.

“And I was looking for you when I was wearing that ridicules pirate outfit Lizzie had chosen for me.”

Hope breathed out and Josie had to look away. She felt hot and cold under Hope's gaze like she was burning and freezing at the same time and it made her dizzy.

The tribrid smiled slightly as she turned the siphoner's head around.

“You and I were both not looking for Landon.”

Hope's other arm steadied her as Josie seemed to understand what the tribrid was saying, swaying slightly under her heavy gaze.

“Not Penelope...”

Josie inched closer.

“Not Roman...”

Hope was pulled into the brunette's orbit again and she couldn't do anything about it. No matter how hard she had tried to resist her, no matter how far she stayed away, she would always come back to her. Would always make sure that Josie is safe and happy.

She hadn't told Josie about her crush on her when she was younger. Even the truth monster seemed to disagree with her as had told Lizzie about it and had added that she had a crush on her for a week.

The monster had crooked his head to the side as if to say:

“ _Are you sure about that?”_

And Hope wasn't sure. She wasn't sure if the crush had gone away of it it had stayed with her. She had loved Landon, there was no doubt about that. But she had also loved Josie. She still had feelings buried deep inside her chest and they all came spilling out the moment that the monster hexed them.

Josie's big eyes stared back at her and Hope's hand moved over the brunette's heart, beating away like she was running a marathon in the middle of the desert.

“I fancy you.”

And their lips finally met.


	2. Prey

_Even a man who is pure in heart  
And says his prayers by night  
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms  
And the autumn moon is bright_

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“Ms. Mikaelson!”

Hope's head jerked up and through bleary eyes, she stared back at Mrs. Tig who shook her head at her.

Her history teacher sighed as her student looked back blankly at her as if she hadn't heard a single thing she had said during the last twenty minutes. Hope was not a bad student, but since this summer she seemed to be utterly exhausted as if she spent her entire night playing Lacrosse and then go out partying until the first period.

But Hope wasn't the type of student who would do that, so Emma was not sure why one of her pupils was acting this was.

The auburn-haired girl still stared back at her and Emma saw how red her eyes looked.

Did Hope smoke and was high now?

Was she smoking weed or was there something different going on?

The teacher sighed and moved on to the next student, asking something about some random dude on France and Hope zoned out again. She knew that Mrs. Tig was disappointed in her, but she couldn't help it. The short girl couldn't keep up anymore with everything that was going on with her life and school just wasn't that high on her list.

“Between 1764 and 1767.”

The smooth voice of Josette Saltzman answered and Hope turned her head slightly to the left to get a better look at the brunette.

She was wearing a yellow crop shirt and high-waist jeans, making her legs appear longer than they actually were. Her hair was in a messy bun and she looked a bit younger than she actually was. And more innocent. Like she couldn't hurt a fly even if the fly had a knife in her hand was vomiting hot molten lava at her.

What a weird thought.

The brunette seemed to notice her staring and looked over, blushing slightly as she saw Hope's eyes at her.

Josie crossed her legs and she hunched over her desk defensively, peeking over one last time at Hope before turning her eyes back at the teacher.

“Very good.”

Mrs. Tig gave the brunette a wide smile and turned over to Hope again, not missing the slight interaction for one moment.

Mrs. Tig kept smiling as she turned back to the auburn-haired girl and Hope gulped, knowing she was screwed.

“And where did it happen?”

Where did what happen?

Hope kept blinking at her and her fingers began to drum on her desk, showing off her anxiety to every student that was sitting here with her.

Alyssa Chang sighed loudly next to her as if Hope was unable to answer the simple question of who what one plus one was. The black-haired girl whipped back and forth as she kept staring at the Mikaelson girl. In front of her MG looked worriedly at her and formed some words but Hope was not able to decipher it. He seemed to be spelling out the answer for her but it was all in vain. Rafael, who sat next to him, clenched his jaw and kept staring at the front of the class, totally ignoring Hope and her attempt to answer Mrs. Tig. She knew that he was probably angry with her but she couldn't help it. She was new to this and her whole life had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. And all he cared about that she would keep it together.

Mrs. Tig sighed again and gave her a stern look.

“Ms. Saltzman?”

The teacher turned back to the brunette and Josie gave the auburn-haired girl a worried look before she answered.

“Gévaudan.„

Hope's head turned around violently and she kept her eyes fixed on the brunette, making the other girl squirm slightly under her heavy gaze.

She could hear Rafael taking a deep breath in front of her and Hope couldn't shake the feeling as if she had done something wrong.

They didn't know.

They _couldn't_ know.

It was just a dumb history lesson and they would move on to a different subject next week.

“Very good, Ms. Saltzman.”

Mrs. Tig smiled at the brunette one last time as she walked towards the front again and clicked onto her laptop.

The PowerPoint slide changed and raveled a picture of a laughing animal, showing its teeth to the observer and standing on at least a dozen corpses.

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“Ms. Mikaelson, Ms. Saltzman, a word please.”

Mrs. Tig sat down on her desk as the rest of the class left and Hope could see Lizzie, Josie's twin sister, sending her a confused look before grabbing MG's hand and making her way out. The brunette twin seemed to be confused as well as Hope heard her gulp.

The auburn-haired girl peaked to her left and saw the brunette standing up before nervously making her way to the front, playing with the hem of her shirt while doing so.

Hope had seen her do that quite a few times, just as biting her lip or drumming her fingers against her desk. It was as if Josie had a lot of nervous energy flowing through her and it manifested as her always moving her body in some way.

Of course, Hope hadn't stalked her or anything.

She just kind of noticed.

Everyone noticed. Right?

“Hope.”

Mrs. Tig's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she shook her head slightly.

The young teacher sighed as she noticed the faraway look on the girl's face. She folded her hands and leaned over her desk a bit, looking into icy blue eyes until the auburn-haired girl looked away slightly embarrassed.

Her eyes wandered to the brunette standing awkwardly next to Hope, fidgeting with something in her hands and Emma wondered if Josie's anxiety was coming back with full force again. As a student counselor, she had talked with the younger girl about it and they worked on a plan together if it became worse. While Josie looked like she would combust any second now, Emma heard her steadily breathing in and she had to smile as she thought back at all the times both of them had practiced this.

Emma looked back at the Mikaelson girl.

“Hope,” she started again and Hope's eyes narrowed.

Josie peaked at the auburn-haired girl, blushing slightly while looking back straight ahead.

“Hope, I've noticed that you're not really here when we are in class.”

Mrs. Tig seemed to think about her next words as Hope shrugged nonchalantly at her words, seemingly ignoring the elephant in the room.

“Your grades are also slipping.”

The auburn-haired girl shrunk and gave Mrs. Tig an angry look. Her eyes seemed to become colder as before.

“So?”

Hope went into her defensive mode. She knew things were rather odd at the moment and she knew she was at least failing two classes now but it couldn't be helped. The auburn-haired girl was not only trying to navigate through her new life but also had to help her family with the quests that were coming to visit Mystic Falls in a few weeks and trying to keep Rafael off her back. He thought she was too attached to her humanity and that she would not be able to keep their secret a secret...

But he was wrong.

And Mrs. Tig didn't understand that. Probably because she had no idea but...

“So...” her teacher leaned back and gave her a small smile before fixing her gaze at the brunette, who visibly gulped.

Hope gave the brunette a confused look.

“Since Josie is one of my best students and the fact that you need to get some extra credit points...”

Hope disliked Mrs. Tig's grin that was now spreading on her face.

“... I decided that you two will get to work on an extra credit...”

Before Mrs. Tig could even think about finishing her sentence, Hope took a step back and interrupted her.

How could Mrs. Tig even think about that? She understood that she was lacking, but why would Josie also need to work on some extra credit projects while she was one of her best students as Mrs. Tig said.

“That's unfair.” she hissed.

The brunette took a step back as she heard the low growl in Hope's voice and her eyes widened at the sudden outburst of the auburn-haired girl.

“How come that she...” Hope pointed at the brunette and Mrs. Tig raised an eyebrow at her.

Oh, that was extremely irritating.

“... gets punished...”

Hope's hands began to shake slightly and she had to remind herself that she had to calm down or she would at Mrs. Tig's throat while Josie would be traumatized for life.

The auburn-haired girl took a shaky breath as she peeked over to the brunette, who seemed to play with a little yellow fidget spinner in her hands.

“...while I was the one who slept during class?”

Hope glared at her teacher who simply smiled back at her and gave her a knowing look.

“While it is nice that you defend your girlfriend...”

Josie began coughing next to her as if she had swallowed wrong while Hope's face lit up like a Christmas tree at those words.

Did she just...?

“... I don't intend to punish Ms. Saltzman with that task.”

As Josie recovered beside her from almost choking to death, Mrs. Tig stood up and moved around her desk and moved towards the window. The teacher went to open her backpack and looked through her things for a few moments until she grabbed a few papers.

Mrs. Tig walked back to them and laid the papers out on the desk. Hope could identity a few words here and there but since everything was upside down she couldn't see what it was about.

“Ms. Saltzman asked for a letter of recommendation a few days ago and...”

She sorted through the papers and looked up again.

“... and I thought it would make an amazing letter of recommendation if I would mention how Ms. Saltzman would help other students achieve better grades and not failing their classes.”

Hope wanted to erase that shit-eating grin that now seemed to be permanently placed on Mrs. Tig's face. The teacher handed them the papers and Josie almost immediately looked at them, scanning the pages for anything important while Hope simply hold them in her hands, still looking at Mrs. Tig.

“Everything you need to know is on the paper...” Mrs. Tig added as she gave both of them a friendly but stern look.

“I want to see the presentation in two weeks.”

And with that, she ushered both girls outside and closed the door before any of them could protest.

The brunette was still silent and Hope wondered if Mrs. Tig had scared the poor girl so much with her idea of both of them working together. While Josie didn't seem to dislike her and Hope lovin... liking her... she didn't seem thrilled about the whole idea.

Maybe she needed a restart?

Is there a restart button on a Josie Saltzman?

Before Hope could finish her thought, Josie turned towards her and gave her a small but adorable smile that made her insides melt just a little bit.

“Do you wanna go out after school?”

Now it was Hope's turn to choke on her own saliva.

Did Josie ask her to meet up with her? After school? To go out? Like going on a date kind of going out? Not that she was desperate or anything but she wasn't opposed to the idea of spending some quality time with Josette Saltzman...

“Hope?”

Josie raised an eyebrow at the older girl and Hope breathed out slowly.

“I'm okay.” she rasped and Josie gave her a funny look as if she didn't believe her but the brunette chose not to comment.

She handed Hope a water bottle and the auburn-haired girl took a grateful sip.

“So after school?”

Hope tried not to choke again as she took a small sip and handed Josie back her water bottle.

“For the project?”

The auburn-haired girl gave her an almost sad look and Hope could feel something hot and uncomfortable moving inside her stomach. Making her squirm slightly as she tried to hide her disappointment.

Of course, she wasn't disappointed about the fact that she would be happy if Josie would maybe go out with her. Of course not. She was a Mikaelson. Not a lovesick fool.

“Yeah.”

The brunette gave her a brighter smile and Hope's knee felt like jelly for a second before she could compose herself again.

Josie stood there for another second until the bell rang again and she almost leaped from their position and rushed towards her next class.

But of course, Hope forgot to tell Josie something.

“Josie!” the auburn-haired girl yelled after her and the brunette stopped and turned around.

Hope looked at her for another moment, seeing how her eyes twinkled with mischief.

“I have basketball practice after school.”

Josie gave her a small smile and a blush illuminated her face with a red glow.

“I know.”

And with that the brunette turned around again and walked towards her class, disappearing in the crowd of sweaty and scared students.

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A basketball hit her square in the face and knocked her on her ass.

“Watch it, Mikaelson!”

Jed gave her his famous signature smirk as he jogged after the ball like he was a common dog fetching his ball for his master. Hope's eyes glowed yellow for a split second before she could control it and she saw Rafael giving her an annoyed look. He shook his head slightly and walked over to Jed to whisper something in his ear. Former hold out his hands in an apology and looked over to the auburn-haired girl, making sure she understood that it was just a stupid joke.

Hope sat up as the boys came over with the ball and she ignored Rafael's intense stare.

“You good?” Jed asked and gave the basketball, making sure that Hope was not angry with him.

“Yeah, all good.” she smiled and Jed gave her a thumbs up before he jogged away again towards his boyfriend Kaleb, who was waiting patiently for him at the door.

Rafael stood tall in front of her and made a face.

“You have to control it better.” his deep voice boomed in her ears while she was sure he whispered it to her, making sure their secret stayed a secret.

Hope gave him an annoyed look but her eyes didn't flash this time.

“I controlled it.” she sighed and tried to walk away but Rafael grabbed her arm, making her stay at the gym with him.

The rest of the group walked out, joking about something that Hope didn't hear while the both of them stayed put.

The auburn-haired girl breathed out slowly, making sure that her anger was not getting the better of her.

“Barley.” he sighed but didn't let go of Hope's arm.

She didn't know what to say to him. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she would never be enough in his eyes. She would always be the weak link, the one that could not control it.

Rafael's eyes softened at the sight of Hope and his voice was much gentler now.

“I know.”

He let go of her arm and his hand brushed shakily over his hair, making him looked as stressed as she felt. Hope knew he had a lot on his plate, being the one who kept the younger ones in check while the older ones talked about pack politics, but still...

“It's just hard with the alphas coming and we can't have the humans know.”

His brown eyes stared into hers and Hope looked away.

“I know.” she repeated softer this time.

Before any of them could continue with their conversation a familiar scent of vanilla and citrus and something that just smelt like home invaded Hope's nose.

“Hope?”

Josie was walking towards them, a folder in front of her as if she wanted to protect herself from the argument that had just taken place here. Her chocolate brown eyes seemed to widen at the tension in front of her and Rafael took a step back from Hope. He gave both girls a tight-lipped smile and walked away, leaving the two girls alone.

“Are you okay?”

Josie's hand touched Hope's arm carefully and the auburn-haired girl felt a pleasant shook going through her system. The brunette gave a small but bright smile and Hope could not help but smiling back. She could hear her own heart shudder and it started beating at the speed of light, making the blood rush into her ears.

“Yeah.”

Josie could see Hope's smile reach her eyes for the first time. The girl who always kept to herself, who never made friends outside her own group, never even talked to anyone outside her clique, the one that never smiled at anyone...

The one that stole her heart at the age of thirteen...

And Josie couldn't help but beam back at her, making the auburn-haired girl laugh softly.

Rafael stood at the door and looked back at them, his face twisting into something between worry and jealously.

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“The Beast of Gévaudan.”

“Mmh?”

Hope looked up as Josie screened the pages they were supposed to be looking at, writing down a few notes here and there.

The brunette looked up and smiled softly at Hope's confused facial expression. Seeing her falling asleep in class and now looking into her tired eyes after her training made her heart soften.

“The Beast of Gévaudan.” she repeated and Hope blinked at her.

The auburn-haired girl leaned over Josie to look at the pages, making the brunette blush sightly before she could compose herself, tough tired Hope seemed to be oblivious about that.

“An animal that killed a lot of people in a province in France around 17's.” Josie explained and Hope looked at the various pictures of some kind of monster either growling or being in mid-kill.

“An animal?” Hope asked and blinked at the picture.

Something about that seemed familiar.

“We covered a bit of it during class.” Josie mumbled and the auburn-haired girl raised an eyebrow at that.

That why it must be familiar, Hope thought.

There was nothing scary about it but something nagged at her back of her mind, warning her, but the auburn-haired girl ignored it.

Josie looked back at her and Hope gave her a tired but friendly smile.

“Sorry.” she whispered and stretched her limbs across her bed, touching Josie's left knee by accident.

“Long night.” she said rather fast before the brunette could comment.

The brunette felt heat surging through her body as Hope's legs touched her knee but she controlled herself before she would make a fool out of herself, acting like some lovesick teenager.

“That's okay.” Josie's voice soothed her.

There was a short moment of silence before Hope cleared her throat.

“So an animal killed a bunch of people and we have to make a presentation about that?”

The brunette gave her a funny look.

“Well, we cover European history,” she began before tapping nervously on her thigh with her fingers.

“...and this animal...” she emphasized the last word and Hope made a face at her, making the brunette giggle before she continued.

“...killed a lot of people, making them believe in some kind of supernatural monster roaming the earth.”

Josie roamed through the pages again while Hope's face paled, making her almost look as pale as the papers in front of them.

“A lot of scholars believe it was something like a public hysteria of the time as there were already a lot of stories about witches or werewolves killing people, giving the church an excuse to extend its power...” she trailed off but Hope wasn't listening again.

It was like something had fried her brain.

_Werewolves?_

Why did they cover werewolves in their history class?

Her mind trailed off again, making her think about Mrs. Tig's knowing eyes and she gulped.

A hand touched her thigh softly and Hope starred back into twinkling eyes.

“You look tired.”

Josie moved a strand of hair behind Hope's ear before she continued.

“We can work tomorrow on that if you want, maybe you should get some sleep?” it sounded more like a question than anything else, like the brunette seemed a bit unsure as to how to approach her properly.

Hope sighed as she felt the brunette's hand on her face and blinked almost sleepily at her.

Yes, maybe she just needed sleep.

Rafael was simply losing it, Mrs. Tig. Was not out to get her and nothing would go wrong when the alphas would come to town.

“Yes, maybe you're right.” she gave Josie a tired smile and the brunette couldn't help but think, how cute sleepy Hope really was.

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Hope screamed as she felt her bones break and rearrange themselves again, making her skin burn hotly and unpleasantly.

“You have to be ready.”

The booming voice of her father echoed through the room as Hope crawled towards his voice.

The auburn-haired girl looked up with teary eyes and saw her mother's red eyes look sorrowfully back at her as she screamed again in agony. Her teeth elongated and she could feel the blood rushing into her mouth, making her shake again.

The nap she took after she had left Josie's place made her feel a bit better but now it was like she hadn't slept at all.

_Josie._

Her shaking subsided as she thought back at the brunette smiling at her softly. Her bones were still breaking but it wasn't as horrible as before.

Klaus' eyes looked at her daughter shaking slightly on the ground while her right leg seemed to be in the wrong angle. He loved his daughter with all his heart but he was afraid of what the other alphas would think about his newly transformed wolf daughter.

Three days. They only had three days.

Her bones kept breaking again but Hope kept thinking about the brunette, grounding her to her humanity.

The other wolves always told her that if she wanted to change properly she had to give in to her wolf and give up her human side, but they were wrong.

Yellow eyes blinked back at Klaus' red ones and a howl erupted from the white wolf in front of him, making him smile.

“We have to be ready for them...”

Lucien's face flashed across his eyes before settling his eyes back to his daughter.

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Josie kept tipping away on her laptop as Hope watched her from the brunette's bed.

A small smile spread from Josie's face, feeling the auburn-haired girl's eyes on her, feeling oddly satisfied with it.

“If you keep watching me...” she started and she heard Hope gulped behind her.

Josie turned around amused as Hope's eyes turned towards her notes, blushing while making sure that Josie hadn't seen her staring.

“... we're never gonna finish it.”

A giggle escaped her as Hope gave her best poker face.

“As far as I see it...”

The auburn-haired girl stood up and put her hands on her waist, making her seem tall and proud, though Josie would easily tower over her if she stood up.

“... you're the one staring.”

Hope's eyebrow rose and Josie couldn't contain her laugh anymore at the other's girl expression, grinning as a madman at her. And even Hope could not fight her contagious laughter, giggling with the other girl for a few minutes before both of them settled.

Josie still grinned as she moved towards her bed and sat down and signaled the other girl to do the same.

Hope sat down next to her and smiled.

“I think we need a short break.” the brunette explained and let herself fall onto her bed, closing her eyes for a moment before looking expectantly back at Hope.

The auburn-haired paused but mimicked the brunette and laid down next to her, feeling oddly relaxed with the vanilla scent invading her nose again.

“Tell me something about yourself.” Josie mumbled and Hope turned her head lazily towards the brunette.

“Like what?” she asked and couldn't keep out the slight shake of her voice.

If Josie noticed her nervousness, she didn't comment on it.

And Hope was grateful for it.

“Like...”

Josie trailed off before turning her whole body towards the auburn-haired girl, making Hope blush slightly.

“...what is your favorite color?”

Hope contained her giggle.

“Oh, nothing too deep, Saltzman.”

Josie slapped her arm slightly, making the other girl laugh again as Josie joined her.

The auburn-haired girl hadn't had this much fun in a while. She was either training with her dad or with Rafael to control her shifts and there was no fun play during that. But everything seemed lighter when she hung out with Josie like she was simply breathing air.

“Blue.”

Hope answered and gave Josie a small poke into her rips, making her smile again.

“And you?”

Josie seemed to think about her answer before staring into her eyes again.

“Yellow.”

There seemed to be a hidden message behind her words as Hope saw her eyes sparkle with mischief again as if Josie knew something about Hope that Hope didn't know. But Hope couldn't decipher it.

They kept asking each other questions until Hope's eyes moved around the room and stopped as she saw a small object sitting on her bookshelf.

“You play?”

Josie turned around and followed her eyes and sighed loudly when she spotted her ukulele.

“Yeah, but I'm not that good.”

Hope poked her again and Josie gave her a knowing look.

“But didn't you mention you have a solo play in a few weeks?”

Josie made a face at her.

“It's a school play, I practice every Thursday night at school but...”

Hope crawled closer.

“Will you play for me?”

“No.”

“Please?”

Hope gave her her puppy eyes and Josie rolled away from her as she saw the winning grin on her friend's face.

“Fine.”

Before she could decide against it she had the ukulele in her hands.

Hope moved behind her as she played a few accords to get into her grove.

“My heart has a little crush on you...”

Josie's voice filled the room and Hope's heart made a jump.

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The white wolf made its way through the forest, seemingly annoyed as the darker one had tried to follow her. But she had been quick to lose him and now she was making her way across the street, out of the shadow of the treeline.

Hope's yellow eyes moved across the horizon and stopped as she spotted two teenagers walking towards a building.

“I know Lizzie.”

The wolf shook its fur as she spotted two rather familiar girls and she smelt a vanilla scent again.

“I just don't want you getting hurt.”

Lizzie sighed as Josie looked through her purse for her house key.

Hope stalked closer and laid down on the ground so that the two of them would not see her.

“I like her, like really like her.”

The brunette played with her keys before looking back at her sister.

“But Mikaelson?”

Hope's ears turned towards the conversation, making her heart beat loudly.

“Lizzie!”

Josie hissed again as both of them moved inside, leaving Hope alone in the dark.

The white wolf shook its fur again before making her way back home, feeling awfully happy and giddy about the brunette's statement.

Missing red eyes following her movements before settling back its eyes on the twins' house.

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“How is the project going, Ms. Mikaelson?”

Hope looked up from the book she was currently reading and stared back into the eyes of Mrs. Tig.

“Good?”

It sounded more like a question than an answer.

Mrs. Tig smiled.

“I thought this would be an interesting topic for you...”

_What?_

Hope gulped and before she could say something, Mrs. Tig continued.

“And if you ever want to talk about something that is going on in your life, my door is always open.”

Mrs. Tig squeezed her shoulder slightly.

“It's a full moon tomorrow, so be careful.”

Mrs. Tig walked away and left Hope thinking about the implication she just made.

_She knew._

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“Hope!”

Slender arms slung themselves around Hope's torso and made her blush.

Chocolate brown eyes twinkled with mischief and Hope sighed as vanilla invaded her senses. And something else...

Hope sniffed at the brunette and made her blush, stopping the hug and smiling awkwardly at her.

“Hope?” she asked again and Hope looked up, icy blue eyes staring back confused at her.

The auburn-haired girl crooked her head to the side confused, making Josie's eyes fill with joy at the adorableness of Hope... being Hope.

Hope on the other hand was a bit concerned now but she did her best to not let it show. Josie's scent was tainted by something wild. Something that reminded her of a wolf, but not something she knew. And it made her shiver with fear.

Something had made its way towards Josie and made sure that she smelled like it without killing her, meaning it was there to send a message.

“Sorry.” she mumbled as she gave the brunette a tight-lipped smile.

Josie's hand moved a strand of hair behind her ear again, reminding her of the first time she had done this.

“All good.”

The brunette smiled and gave her one last hug before she ran towards her last class of the day, leaving Hope standing in the hallway.

Someone had marked Josie and she was almost sure that it was someone who wanted to send a message to her.

Hope shivered at the thought of another wolf near the brunette.

Thinking back at Mrs. Tig's words and the new scent around Josie made Hope growl slightly, her eyes flashing yellow for a second.

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“I think she is a wolf.”

Hope played with her food as her mother looked exactingly at her.

“And why would you think that?” Hayley asked.

Hope rolled her eyes at her mother.

“I already explained, she...”

Hayley gave her a pointed look again and Hope sighed loudly.

“She is not a wolf. End of discussion.”

Hayley was beyond stressed now as the other alphas from the seven packs of northern Virginia were already here. Lucien was already here since last week, making Klaus nervousness leak throughout the whole pack.

She had made sure that Rafael would look after her again, but even he was not able to keep up with her daughter in wolf form.

Rafael was a good boy, pack over everything. And he had lost so much when he was bitten and his foster brother Landon had died. That's why he seemed to be so protective over their pack and Hayley appreciated it a lot.

The boy had told her about Hope seeing a girl from town, a normie. And Hayley was scared that one of the other alphas would do something drastic to show that Klaus was not the most powerful of them, leaving the girl or any other human friends of them in the crossfire.

Especially with Lucien stalking around town.

That's why they had these rules to keep to themselves. To leave the humans be, be safe and keep them safe.

And if Hope was seeing someone...

Hayley could see Hope playing with her food again and sighed.

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Basketball training was hard as Hope struggled with keeping an eye on a certain brunette and finding out what Mrs. Tig was planning.

She didn't trust the history teacher anymore.

Hope knew that Mrs. Tig had a secret and she was pretty sure that she was a wolf, letting her study about a werewolf and making implications about the full moon.

Hope threw the ball and it flew through the basket.

A low clapping sound echoed through the gym and Hope turned around, looking into familiar brown eyes.

The others were already leaving, having enough from throwing around balls while Hope walked slowly towards the brunette.

“Hi.” Josie breathed out and Hope smiled.

“Hi.” she mimicked.

Before she could add anything else the brunette gave her a quick hug and Hope winced at how sweaty she was. Poor Josie had to endure a stinky hug.

“I'm sweaty.” she mumbled into the brunette's hair and Josie giggled, letting her prisoner escape from her hug prison.

“I don't care. I missed you.”

Hope wasn't sure if Josie was drunk but she enjoyed that the brunette had missed her. Like she was needed. Like Josie needed her.

“I missed you too.” she whispered and didn't let go of the brunette just yet, still standing in front of her.

Josie blushed as if she didn't expect Hope's words before grinning brightly at her.

There was a moment of silence between them before Josie cleared her throat, making Hope look up at her.

“I have music practice tonight...” she trailed off knowing that Hope knew about her Thursday practices.

“Mmh.” the auburn-haired girl hummed, her thinking being limited as Josie played with her hair again.

Hope was definitely listening to her but she had a bit of trouble concentrating. Why does it have to feel so good when Josie played with her hair?

“... I think that maybe, if you're up for it...” the brunette trailed of and chocolate brown eyes met icy blue ones.

“...you wanna go out, maybe to dinner or...?” Josie began to ramble and she looked away quickly and retracted her hand, making Hope almost whine as the wonderful sensation of Josie's hand left her...

Wait...

That sounded wrong.

Hope shook her head before looking at the almost heartbreaking sad look of Josie's face, thinking about the question she was just asked.

“ _...you wanna go out, maybe to dinner or...?”_

Josie thought that Hope meant no to her question as she shook her head so Hope quickly elaborated.

“Yes.”

She hastily breathed out and Josie's frown turned upside down, making Hope grin to.

She was going on a date with Josie Saltzman.

Hope's eyes lit up.

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Lucien Castel walked towards the Mikaelson's and the other alphas, grinning from ear to ear as if he had just won the Nobel Peace Prize.

His hold out his arms and Hope suppressed a groan.

“Klaus!”

Lucien's voice boomed through the room as his eyes lit up in a red eerie light, making the other alphas growl at him.

“Lucien.” Klaus greeted him, flashing his eyes at him.

Lucien was known for being a cunning wolf and had already made his fair share of attempts to kill Klaus or to kick him out of his powerful position as being the head of the alpha meetings.

He had never succeeded though and Klaus could never prove it was him, but he knew.

And Lucien had become more careful with his attempts.

Klaus had already been paranoid but with Lucien it took on a dangerous notch, making him question even his closest betas.

Rafael stood tall and his blue shining eyes matched Hope's yellow ones. He had his hands behind his back and showed off his muscles, making sure that no one would even dare to even look wrongly at his pack.

Hope had snickered before but know she appreciated him being here, making sure that everyone was safe.

“You're late.”

Klaus's voice shook her out of her thoughts and her eyes settled back on the newcomer.

Lucien walked closer, being flanked by another beta to his right, and smiled sinister at the Mikaelsons, letting his eyes pas everyone and his eyes lingered a moment too long on Hope.

“I had business to attend to.”

He shrugged and handed Klaus a bottle of wine as a present, a tradition for the alpha meetings.

Klaus raised an eyebrow, making him look exactly like Hope when she did that.

“Business?”

He asked casually and handed the wine bottle to his brother Elijah.

“A surprise.”

He didn't elaborate and Klaus didn't think it was the right moment to ask about it but he knew that Lucien was planing something.

That worm.

Klaus smiled again and while Lucien's eyes turned back normal, the other alpha let his wolf eyes stay red.

Hope suddenly felt nervous as she looked at the exchange. Something felt wrong and she couldn't shake the feeling that Lucien's gaze had lingered at her like he knew something very important that she didn't know. Something that she had to know.

Something seemed off about that guy and while her father had warned her about him, she couldn't shake off the feeling of fear invading her senses.

Rafael's hand touched her shoulder, making her relax a bit.

_I have your back._

_You're not alone._

_Don't be afraid._

While Rafael had been a douche for the last few weeks he had her back now. He was there for her.

Hope had zoned out during their conversation but looked back up at her father's laugh.

“The humans?”

He pointed at Lucien and grinned like a madman, while the other stood still.

“Yes.”

Lucien's smile didn't leave his face and it made Hope want to vomit. Something was up. And Hope felt like she was too late for something extremely important, something of a matter of life or death.

A familiar scent invaded her nostrils but Hope couldn't identify it with her sudden panic.

“I think it is time to come out of the shadows.”

Lucien walked through the room, looking at every one of the other alphas. Some of them seemed interested in what he had to say while most of them shook their heads in disbelief. Like he had just said something extremely inappropriate.

“There are rules. And they are there for a reason.” Klaus growled and took a step forward.

The other alpha stood his ground, still smiling in Klaus's face.

“And I think it's time to change that.”

Lucien stood tall, not intimidated in the slightest at Klaus's facial expression.

Klaus stopped, knowing that Lucien hadn't revealed all his cards yet.

Before Klaus had even had the chance to talk Lucien started talking again, raising his hands in a friendly way, like he wanted to shower you with gifts. Dangerous gifts.

“We have lived too long in the shadows.”

Hayley growled lowly and her eyes flashed red.

“We have to hide ourselves while they get to live under the sun.”

Rafael stepped from one foot to the other.

“Even your daughter, Klaus, seemed to have found a liking to a certain _human_ girl.”

Lucien snickered and Hope paled.

“No...”

Hope breathed out and she could not contain her shaking anymore.

The scent, that seemed so familiar, came back stronger. The same one that she had smelled on Josie a few days ago. The same one...

Lucien crooked his head to the side, smiling brightly at her.

“But of course I would never defy your rules...”

Hope breathed out shakily.

Maybe he hadn't hurt her...

“So I gave her the gift...”

Hope screamed as her eyes turned yellow and her teeth elongated. She could feel claws coming out of her fingers and Rafael had to grab her and hold her back.

Lucien snickered, not caring the slightest that he may have killed Josie or not. The bite could either turn you or kill you. And Lucien didn't care. He wanted to show who had the power in this room and even if a human girl had to die because of that...

It was worth it.

Hayley stood in front of her daughter.

“Hope, you can't.” she pleaded and Hope almost howled in agony.

If Hope would attack Lucien now it would give him the excuse he needed to end them. Hayley had to protect the pact.

But Hope was not having it, staring with teary eyes at Lucien.

“She has a talent with her ukulele and a beautiful voice...” he trailed off, picking his nails in boredom.

Hope blinked.

She was in the school.

Without another word she tore herself away from her mother and Rafael and ran outside, turning mid-air into w white wolf.

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Hope didn't care that she was naked when she arrived at the school gate.

She only cared about finding Josie.

_Oh god._

She shakily broke the lock of the front door and the first thing that hit her was the smell of blood.

A howl erupted from her throat and fear overtook her senses, making everything glowing gold and blurry.

Her feet hit the ground and she was up running, following the smell of blood.

She had promised Josie to see her tonight after her practice, going on a date with her. Having normal teenage fun, throwing with popcorn at each other in the cinema, or stealing her fries while they were in the dinner. She would love at Josie's stupid jokes and Josie would giggle when Hope would imitate Jed and Kaleb being sickly sweet to each other. Josie would clap her hands happily, telling her how lucky Jed was at finding Kaleb while Hope would blush, hoping that the brunette would think the same about them.

_Don't let her be dead._

Hope ran down the hallway towards the music room.

And then the two of them would go home, being extra slow so they would have some more time together. Hope would lean into the brunette while Josie would intervene their finger s and Hope would know that Josie's heartbeat would beat so fast against her own body, similar to her own. And Hope would debate on whether or not she should kiss her or it was too early for that. Or if she should ask beforehand as consent was very important to her. And Josie would laugh lowly when she would see her facial expression.

Hope almost slammed into another body as she made her way around a curve. Mrs. Tig was standing before her, a nasty gash on her forehead and she tried her best to stand upright, holding out wolfsbane in front of her.

Hope growled, feeling it burning her arm slightly as it gazed her.

“Hope?”

Mrs. Tig lowered her weapon slowly and tears formed in her eyes.

“I tried to protect her, your mother asked me to protect her...” she trailed off but Hope couldn't hear her.

_Where was she?_

_She can't leave her._

And Hope started sprinting again, ignoring the stinging pain that shot through her arm as she grabbed the wolfsbane and threw it on the ground.

Hope would feel the first raindrops hitting her face as they made their way towards Josie's house, shivering slightly at the sensation. And Josie would look at her with those beautiful dark brown eyes. The brunette would stop and make Hope frown, making her think she did something wrong. But then she would move a strand of hair away, like she did so many times before, leaving a pleasant sensation on Hope's skin. And she would smile while the world around them turned dark, rain hitting them now with full force. She would move her hands towards her face, looking for something in Hope's eyes, and smiled lovely at her as she found it. She would dip down her head and would give her a chaste kiss, moving away quickly, but Hope wouldn't let her. The auburn-haired girl would chase after her lips and would keep them locked, making the brunette shudder at Hope's sudden wild side, but she would not complain. She would happily comply when Hope would ask for permission with her tongue and she would press herself closer to her, making Hope become the happiest girl on earth.

Hope opened the door to the music room and almost chocked on her tears as she saw the body on the floor.

“Josie!”

She made her way towards the brunette and pressed her body close to her.

Josie was breathing heavily and she opened her eyes lazily when she heard the auburn-haired girl's voice. She slowly lifted her hand and touched Hope's face, leaving a red dot there.

“Hope...”

The brunette smiled and Hope tried to smile back but it resembled more of a grimace.

“Hey...” Josie said, wanting to make her grimace disappear, but failing miserably as her hand fell down again.

Hope felt the tears falling down her face and onto the brunette as she grabbed her hand squeezed it slightly, letting her know that she was there.

The auburn-haired girl couldn't contain her sob anymore, seeing Josie lying there on the floor, bleeding all over the floor because Lucien thought about going after her father again.

Her eyes flashed up and Hope looked away ashamed, losing control while...

While...

She couldn't think about Josie dying.

Josie could not die,

She couldn't.

A hand moved a strand of hair away and Hope looked back at the brunette.

“You remember what my favorite color is?” she asked and Hope looked confused back at her through teary eyes.

“Yellow...” Hope trailed of and Josie smiled tiredly at her.

“Like your eyes...”

Hope's eyes widen at the sudden realization.

Josie had known what she was, probably for some time now and she still stood by her side. Josie had chosen her. The brunette had decided that even while Hope was a monster, she was worth it. She was worth her love.

Hope sobbed with something between relief and fear.

Relief that Josie still loved her, despite everything.

And fear that she would not make it.

The auburn-haired girl pressed her forehead to hers and breathed out shakily. Hope loved her. And even if Josie hadn't said that she loved her too, she knew it. Somewhere deep down in her heart she knew that the brunette loved her, loved her enough to not see the monster lurking behind her eyes.

A soft hand caressed her face.

“Kiss me.”

And Hope complied. She kissed the brunette so softly as she could, poured all her love into it, all her feelings into it. She wanted her to know how much she loved her, how much pain she was in, how much sadness she felt, the rage behind the attack, and the misery. The misery she felt that she was only attacked because of her. Because she was with Hope. And Hope could feel all the emotions that Josie poured into their kiss as well, the happiness she felt when they hung out together, the giddiness she felt when Hope would keep staring at her from behind, the nervousness about asking her on a date, and the fear of rejection. But above all Hope could fell the love about seeing Hope every day, looking at her from afar when she threw a basketball, when she slapped Rafael's arm while Jed and Lizzie would poke her during class that she had a new crush or when she played her ukulele for Hope, singing just for her.

Her heart beat stopped.

Hope's eyes teared up as she felt Josie going limp, pressing herself closer to the brunette.

The auburn-haired girl sobbed loudly and began to shake.

No.

This was not happening.

She was not dead.

She wasn't dead.

She wasn't...

Hope could smell all the blood and could feel the pain the brunette had been in from just looking through the room.

And down to her left lay a broken ukulele. Blood splattered all over it.

◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌ ◌

And then she heard a gasp.

Looking back at the brunette's face she stared back into two yellow eyes, twinkling with mischief and something far more dangerous.

Love.

At this moment, the brunette was a predator while Hope was the prey. Josie pressed their lips hungrily together, hugging her closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments. And yes, the last chapter was inspired by a Buffy episode. 
> 
> And I definitely have to say, Jed and Lizzie rock! I'm so happy he is becoming a season regular now! 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I was actually thinking about killing Josie, but...  
> This chapter was hard to write (over 8000 words takes hella long) and I am not sure I will make it to the end until October 31st, but I will definitely try. 
> 
> Also it's 4 in the morning and I'm dead tired now... zzz

**Author's Note:**

> Thirteen days of Hosie is an idea of writing thirteen one-shots during October, using thirteen random words as inspiration.   
> I thought it would be fun to try that as I saw others do the same in different fandoms.  
> If you have time and want to do it too, please do so! Either use the same words or others and have fun writing! Or you could draw or edit them! :)
> 
> Words:  
> Day 1: Fancy  
> Day 2: Prey  
> Day 3: Throw  
> Day 4: Teeth  
> Day 5: Slippery   
> Day 6: Storm  
> Day 7: Music  
> Day 8: Ominous   
> Day 9: Float  
> Day 10: Hide  
> Day 11: Loss  
> Day 12: Primal  
> Day 13: Sleep
> 
> Hope you have as much fun reading this as I had writing it.   
> Keep safe, wear a mask, and go vote if you haven't done that already!


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